The present invention is in the field of connecting cables. More in particular it relates to an apparatus for connecting, possibly underground, cables such as copper cables or fibre-optic cables. Apparatus of such a kind are known, for example from references [1] and [2] (for more bibliographic details with regard to the references, see below under C. References). Such apparatus comprises a container buried in the ground which is provided with a cover to close off the top and with passages in or near a base for cables which can be and/or are connected in the container. The container is furthermore completely covered at street level with a cover plate. In the interior of the container is disposed a holder for the connection means such as splicing cassettes for optical fibres or other connector elements to which the conductors of the cables are or can be connected. According to [1], the holder in the container is attached to a withdrawal member by which the holder with the connector elements can be pulled vertically upwards, thus making it accessible above ground for connection work. The excess length of the various cables required for this purpose lies wound loosely as a helix around the holder in the container. According to [2], the holder is in the form of a sort of cable sleeve which is suspended vertically in the container or is attached to a withdrawal member, and into the top of which the cable or cables are sealably inserted. By means of a handle, the cable sleeve can be withdrawn from the container and raised above ground, whereby in this implementation as well the required excess length of the various cables lies wound loosely as a helix around the holder in the container. Such known forms of the apparatus have the drawback that as the number of cables to be connected increases, particularly in the case of different network operators, they become impracticable and inconveniently arranged (reference [1]), or unusable (reference [2]). Moreover, both devices require relatively large reserves of cable, which means that the container cannot be very compact.
Further from reference [3] an apparatus is known, which comprises an assembly of an inner member and an outer member, which are extensible and retractable, for bringing outside and hiding again of an electrical wall socket provided in an outer wall of the inner member. The members are situated cylindrically and concentrically. The cabling of the supply cable for the wall socket, which is introduced into the apparatus from the exterior via an inlet in the outer member, has been arranged in the interior of the apparatus in such a way that the supply cable is connected and interrupted upon extension and retraction of the inner member, respectively. Such an interruption principle has the advantage that the required excess length of the introduced cables in the interior of the apparatus may be limited to minimum. An application for an apparatus, in which the cables should be able to be and to stay connected during a retracted state, is by no means possible.